Jazz Fall in Overtime to Kings in Game 3 of First Round, 84-81

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (May 12, 1999) -- Maybe those three overtime games between the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings during the regular season really did mean something.

Vlade Divac scored four of Sacramento's final five points and Utah's Todd Fuller missed two free throws with 4.2 seconds left in overtime as the underdog Kings stunned the Jazz, 84-81, for their first home playoff victory since relocating to Northern California in 1985.

The Kings took a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five first-round series and have put the pressure on the two-time defending Western Conference champions, who overcame the same deficit in the opening round a season ago against Houston.

"They have big pressure on them now," Divac said. "But I'm sure they know how to handle it. Friday's not going to be easy. During the regular season we could run and play more up tempo, now we have to play smarter. Believe it or not, we're going to have to play better to win on Friday."

Divac, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds, left the game with 6:07 to play in the fourth quarter when he received a gash over his right eye from an unintentional elbow from John Stockton.

"I dived for a ball and John jumped over me and my head and hit the floor," Divac added. "It's only 2-3 stitches, no big deal."

After receiving the stitches in the locker room, Divac returned to action with a bandage on his head and made four free throws in the waning moments of regulation, the last of which knotted the contest at 77-77 with 29 seconds remaining.

"We never stopped believing that we could win and Vlade was just huge for us down the stretch," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. "This is a great win, a tremendous win."

The Jazz had a chance to pull out the win but Howard Eisley missed an open 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left and Karl Malone misfired on a jumper as the buzzer sounded, sending these teams to overtime for the fourth time this season.

Utah won two of those contests but fell behind in this one as Chris Webber hit a five-foot hook shot with 2:39 remaining that made it 79-77. Malone, who scored 20 of his 22 points after halftime, drained a pair of free throws with 63 seconds left to even the score before Divac carried his team to victory.

"I can't be any prouder of our team," Adelman added. "So many times it seemed like we were going the other direction and yet we hung in there. I saw the stat sheet at halftime and saw that Karl Malone had only two points and that scared the heck out of me. I just knew they were going to come at us. But I just have to give our guys so much credit."

The veteran center made a six-foot hook before Eisley, who scored a postseason career-high 21 points, answered with a 17-footer. On Sacramento's next trip, Divac once again backed into the lane before firing up a hook from six feet that kissed the front of the rim and dribbled in to put the Kings ahead for good at 83-81 with 21 seconds left.

"Vlade took such pressure off me," said Webber, who led the Kings to victory with 20 points in Game Two. "He's unreal. Vlade getting off the floor, bleeding and just running to the locker room, gettting stitches with no Novocain. Now that 's huge."

Utah's Bryon Russell missed an eight-footer that would have tied the game but Fuller grabbed the rebound and Divac fouled him with 4.2 seconds left.

"I told (Fuller) we were gonna keep calling timeout," Divac said. "You know, to make him think about it."

Two timeouts were called before Fuller, who was 30-of-50 from the line this season, was short on his first attempt. After another timeout, his intentional miss was rebounded by Kings forward Scot Pollard.

Pollard made 1-of-2 from the stripe with 3.3 seconds to play, giving Utah one last chance to even the contest. Stockton fired a 3-pointer at the buzzer that bounded off the right side of the backboard as the Arco Arena crowd went into a frenzy.

"I think we just couldn't get a shot to fall," Stockton said. "I think we executed pretty well. It seemed like everyone had a good look at it at one time or another, but we just couldn't get one to fall."

"The only time I've ever seen a crowd like that was in college (at Michigan) and that's because the tickets were free," Webber added. "Now that's homefield advantage. I never experienced a crowd like that, ever."

The Kings had lost their three previous home playoff games since moving to Sacramento in 1985. Their last home playoff win was April 22, 1981 against Houston, when the franchise played in Kansas City.

Game Four will be in Sacramento on Friday.

Corliss Williamson scored 18 points, rookie Jason Williams collected 12 and Webber added 10 and eight rebounds before fouling out in overtime. The Kings held a walloping 53-38 advantage on the boards.

Williams, who had eight rebounds and six assists, saddled Stockton. The NBA's all-time leading assist man was limited to five points and five assists in 25 minutes and was a dismal 1-of-9 from the floor.

"I think tonight was even more physical than Game Two," Williams said. "I don't care, I just know that it will be another wild one on Friday. We don't have anything to lose, so why back down from anybody. They put their shorts on the same way we do, so let's just go out and play ball with them."

Eisley scored 21 points off the bench and reserve forward Shandon Anderson added 17 for Utah, which shot 38 percent (28-of-74).

"We have a one-game season right now," Stockton added. "We have to come and play a great game next game or we're finished. So if you're not concerned, then there's something wrong with you."

Malone, who was 8-of-22 from the field, grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. The Jazz yielded 25 points off 18 turnovers but only trailed 60-56 entering the fourth quarter when their vast playoff experience figured to wilt the upstart Kings.

Malone made a layup and Anderson hit the second of two free throws to give the Jazz their first lead since the early moments of the first quarter, 69-68, with 5:23 left in regulation.

Vernon Maxwell, who was a dismal 2-of-12 from the field, picked an oppurtune moment to drain a 3-pointer that thrust Sacramento back in front with 4:59 remaining.

Malone appeared to take control of the contest when he made a 15-footer, a driving layup and a pair of free throws to give Utah a 75-71 lead with 2:37 to go.

But Williams responded with a nine-foot jumper and Divac tied the game at 75-75 on two free throws with 56 seconds left.

Webber picked up his fifth foul on the Jazz's ensuing possession and Eisley put Utah in front by calmly sinking two free throws.

After a timeout, the Kings got the ball to Divac and the 7-1 Serbian drove the lane and drew a foul from Malone with 29 seconds left before converting the game-tying free throws.

Sacramento shot 38 percent (32-of-83) and held a 16-9 edge on the offensive glass.

"We're gonna have to play a little bit harder and get a little more interest out of our people," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "It seems like we didn't have a great deal of interest from some of our players in this game. I think that's going to be the biggest adjustment. We can't win unless we get a lot of people that come and play hard."

UTAH (81)

Russell 2-6 1-2 5, Malone 8-22 6-6 22, Ostertag 0-1 3-6 3, Hornacek 1-6 2-3 4, Stockton 1-9 2-2 5, Bailey 2-3 0-0 4, Eisley 9-15 2-2 21, Foster 0-1 0-0 0, Keefe 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 5-8 6-8 17, Fuller 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 28-74 22-31 81.

SACRAMENTO (84)

Williamson 8-11 2-2 18, Webber 4-14 2-6 10, Divac 7-16 7-8 22, Abdul-Wahad 3-6 0-0 6, Williams 5-13 0-0 12, Funderburke 1-1 0-0 2, Maxwell 2-12 0-0 6, Barry 0-3 0-0 0, Pollard 1-2 1-2 3, Stojakovic 1-5 2-2 5. Totals 32-83 14-20 84.

Utah       17 20 19 21 4 = 81
Sacramento 28 13 19 17 7 = 84